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usual

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word usual distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of usual are accustomed, customary, habitual, and wonted. While all these words mean "familiar through frequent or regular repetition," usual stresses the absence of strangeness or unexpectedness.

my usual order for lunch

How is accustomed related to other words for usual?

Accustomed is less emphatic than wonted or habitual in suggesting fixed habit or invariable custom.

accepted the compliment with her accustomed modesty

In what contexts can customary take the place of usual?

The words customary and usual are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, customary applies to what accords with the practices, conventions, or usages of an individual or community.

the customary waiting period before the application is approved

When could habitual be used to replace usual?

Although the words habitual and usual have much in common, habitual suggests a practice settled or established by much repetition.

a habitual morning routine

When is wonted a more appropriate choice than usual?

The words wonted and usual can be used in similar contexts, but wonted stresses habituation but usually applies to what is favored, sought, or purposefully cultivated.

his wonted determination

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of usual
Adjective
Complete these steps to grab a bonus for college basketball or make a larger bet than usual with a safety net. Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2025 Then again, with so much of the sun covered, perhaps the effect won't be to diminish the brightness of sunlight so much as to alter its quality: Scenery may appear strangely dusky and yellower than usual. Joe Rao, Space.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Noun
Ebonē Colbert ordered her usual on her weekly trip to Wendy's with her son: a kid’s meal with a plain cheeseburger for him and a Dave’s Single, a burger topped with lettuce and tomato, for herself. Aria Bendix, NBC News, 26 Aug. 2022 On the first day back, Evans ordered his usual: a single cheeseburger, fries and a Coke. Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2022 See All Example Sentences for usual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for usual
Adjective
  • However, the settlement is far from conventional in several ways.
    Joe Sabin, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
  • So close yet so far, Placer County, where Blue Lives Matter meets balayage, felt like the right location to artificially return my fortysomething face to a state of more conventional youthful attractiveness.
    Sarah Miller, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The facilities have to make sure the calorie intake of the people who are fasting remains the same, so the first meal would be a normal breakfast while sunset would require a double tray of dinner.
    Shanzeh Ahmad, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2025
  • Newsweek contacted the Department of Defense for further comment via email outside of normal office hours.
    Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Sheer looks are a ubiquitous part of many a modern red carpet event.
    Julia Teti, Footwear News, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Plugging his new album with the wonderfully ubiquitous Brandi Carlile, the EGOT winner is the musical guest this week with Oscar nominee Carlile, who is back for her third time too.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 5 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Alila Napa Valley goes beyond the ordinary by offering unforgettable experiences designed to captivate modern travelers, especially Xennials.
    Noel Burgess, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The couple have often walked red carpets together, so it certainly wouldn’t be considered out of the ordinary for the 37-year-old to walk the Golden Globes red carpet alongside her beau as his plus-one.
    Sam Reed, Glamour, 4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Surgeons reduced the ribs from the front of the body (versus the lower back, as is customary) and conducted pulmonary tests on patients pre- and post-op.
    Jolene Edgar, Allure, 10 Apr. 2025
  • When George Clooney walks out on stage as Edward R. Murrow, the distinguished American journalist, the chiseled Hollywood star gets the customary entrance applause.
    Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi are unlikely to exhibit behaviors typical of wild dire wolves due to being raised in captivity without a pack structure, says Adam Boyko, a geneticist at Cornell University who was not involved in the project, to the New York Times.
    Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Whoever wins the election will assume office immediately — without the country’s typical two-month transition period.
    Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • And then, aren’t cats emblematic of whatever is familiar but ultimately unknowable?
    Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Also familiar is the note of righteous outrage in the poet’s diatribe, at the end of Poem 64, against the corrupted morals of his day.
    Daniel Mendelsohn, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Dunne’s Back-Pay Argument Dunne committed to LSU in 2017, four years before the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) Interim rules went into effect.
    Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • For 18 months, every discussion about Newcastle United’s transfer strategy has necessitated mention of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
    Chris Waugh, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Usual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/usual. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.

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